Metal By Numbers is a weekly column in which we look at the top metal sellers and debuts of the week.

A slow week for new metal releases this week, with the top debut coming in the form of a compilation. However, that particular greatest hits package just so happens to come from Slipknot. Antennas to Hell sells well over 16,000 copies, enough to crack the top 20. Granted, this pales in comparison to what their studio albums went on to sell. Still, the fact that this particular greatest hits package sold as well as it did further proves that Slipknot have come a long way from their debut self-titled album.

 

Notable Debuts

Slipknot, Antennas to Hell (Roadrunner) #18, 16,300 sold
We have to imagine that Slipknot’s current headlining stint on Mayhem Fest will further help sales out.

 

Om, Advaitic Songs (Drag City) 1,100 sold
A solid first week for the rhythm section of Sleep.

 

Notable Sales

Pierce The Veil, Collide With the Sky (Fearless) #37, 8,000 sold
After the band’s third album had a monstrous debut on #10 last week, the buzz with them being part of the Vans Warped Tour has still kept them in the Top 40.

 

Hellyeah, Band of Brothers (Eleven Seven) #46, 6,600 sold
The album (which the superband of brothers claim is a more metal-sounding effort) dropped almost 30 positions, but is still doing relatively ok for the time being.

 

Rush, Clockwork Angels (Roadrunner) #65, 5,600 sold
Time is still on Rush’s side as they drop only slightly in charts and sales numbers. But with the recent announcement of the Clockwork Angels novel that is set to be released on September 1, they might even experience a slight push back up next week.

 

Various Artists, Rock of Ages Soundtrack (Water Tower Music/Warner Bros.) #71, 5,300 sold
The soundtrack sold another 20% less than in the previous week. So hopefully people are deciding to buy real music again instead.

 

Five Finger Death Punch, American Capitalist (Prospect Park) #76, 5,000 sold
It’s freakin’ week 42 and the record shoots back up almost 30 positions. The upswing is likely due to the first people returning from Trespass America Festival tour dates – the tour will continue for another two weeks.

 

Baroness, Yellow & Green (Relapse) #82, 4,700 sold
While things looked promising with Baroness’ new record debuting on a solid #30 last week, they fell quite a bit, despite their music video debut last week. Maybe they’ll get a bit more buzz once their tour dates kick off on August 29.

 

Slash, Apocalyptic Love (Dik Hayd) #86, 4,400 sold
So it did get across the 90,000 mark this week, we’ll give him that. Also, the GN’R member recently released an app which lets you view the master guitarist performing his record on your smartphone. The app is called SLASH360, but Bill Gates does not seem to be involved in the project (yet).

 

Shinedown, Amaryllis (Atlantic) #91, 4,200 sold
Maybe they should think about renaming the band Shine Up And Down (yup, we really went there): After last week’s stellar increase in sales numbers, the band sold less than a third this week around.  Nevertheless, their latest single “Unity” is doing phenomenally well, so we might just see them come back up on top seven days from now.

 

Falling In Reverse, The Drug In Me Is You (Epitaph)  #104, 3,600 sold
Another band whose chart position is positively affected by playing the Vans Warped Tour, especially with them being on the main stage this time around. Being asked about which things are essential to have during a tour, their answers included hand sanitizer and baby wipes. The question that remains is if their moms are usually on tour with them. Oh snap!

 

P.O.D., Murdered Love (Razor & Tie) #118, 3,300 sold
It’s only logical that the band’s reboot after more than four years of hiatus wouldn’t be a walk in the park, and that certainly shows in their sales numbers dropping almost 40% in week two.

 

Mark Tremonti, All I Was (Fret12) #128, 3,000
Creed guitarist Tremonti takes a bitter fall this week, but even if it doesn’t seem to be going too well for his heavier solo efforts, it seems to have helped the original band reconcile after Creed’s breakup in 2004.

 

Sleeping With Sirens, If you were a movie, this would be your soundtrack (Rise) #156, 2,600 sold
If you were a movie, this would be your less and less successful soundtrack. If you really want your very own soundtrack you should create it yourself using this cool new app.

 

Serj Tankian, Harakiri (Serjical Strike/Reprise) #160, 2,500 sold
Harakiri’s sales have dropped by more than 30%. But once the System Of A Down mastermind and activist ‘s world tour gets rolling in September, things could look a lot better.

 

Halestorm, The Strange Case Of… (Atlantic) #164, 2,500 sold
It’s week 16 for the female-fronted combo, and with their Carnival Of Madness Tour featuring Evanescence, Chevelle, Cavo, and New Medicine recently kicking off, they might be able to stick around a while longer.

 

Volbeat, Beyond Hell/Above Heaven (Universal) #167, 2,500 sold
Listeners do not seem to be the only ones that are saturated when it comes to Volbeat’s current album: the band is planning to return to the studio late this year.

 

Saving Abel, Bringing Down the Giant (eOne) #179, 2,300 copies
It wasn’t really a giant to begin with, although that #24 debut two weeks didn’t look too bad, but for now the record is the one being brought down – the sales numbers drop to less than half of the previous week’s.

 

Memphis May Fire, Challenger (Rise) #182, 2,300 sold
So close! Still a bit under 30,000 sales total.

 

Tenacious D, Rize of the Fenix (Columbia) #185, 2,200 sold
Our beloved JB & KG are still touring the hell out of this record… with a few hiccups.

 

The Contortionist, Intrinsic (eOne/Good Fight Entertainment) 1,100 sold
After only one week, the record drops back off the charts, but they still sold more than 1,000 copies of the record that was produced by Eyal Levi.

 

Vampires Everywhere!, Hellbound and Heartless (Century Media) 980 sold
A slight upswing compared to last week, but nothing to sink your teeth into.

 

Your Memorial, Redirect (Facedown) 725 sold
Seems like the memories are fading…

 

Otherwise, True Love Never Dies (Century Media) 710 sold
Remember how we were looking for anything else to write about this band last week? In the meantime, this incredible thing happened! Oh wait, no it didn’t.

 

Abandon All Ships, Infamous (Rise) 690 sold
Guys, it might be time to follow your own advice.

 

Verse, Bitter Clarity, Uncommon Grace (Bridge Nine/Lumberjack) 675 sold
Straight-Edge, no straight edge, in any case the record’s pretty close to the edge.

 

Glass Cloud, Royal Thousand (Equal Vision) 650 sold
People who sit on glass clouds… No I don’t have a clue either where we were going with this.

 

Nile, At the Gate of Sethu (Nuclear Blast) 600 sold
Four weeks in and they are close to 7,000 sold copies.

 

Upon A Burning Body, Red. White. Green. (Sumerian) 600 sold
The success of Mayhem Fest allows them to experience an impressive 11% increase in sales.

 

For the Fallen Dreams, Wasted Youth (Artery/Razor & Tie) 500 sold
They only had one week in the Top 200, but they still managed to sell just a couple more records than…

 

Memphis May Fire, Hollow (Rise) 475 sold
…but they STILL have two records on the chart, so I guess they win.

 

Dying Fetus, Reign Supreme (Relapse) 450 sold
The death metal band recently announced that they will be playing two shows in the US prior to their European tour in September.

 

Kreator, Phantom Antichrist (Nuclear Blast) 400 sold
If it’s any consolation, they have been doing much, much better in Europe.

 

Bury Tomorrow, The Union of Crowns (Nuclear Blast) 300
This album continues to get buried on the charts.